Bottle-washer



(No Model.)

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- 2 Sheets-Sheet I. G. S. SLOGUM.

BOTTLE WASHER.

Patented Mar. 12, 1889.

2 t e flu h S m e e h s 2 MR m M 0 LW E n T 0 GB a d 0 M 0 W Patented Mar. 12, 1889.

Inventor, Geor ye 552002070,

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GEORGE S. SLOCUU, OF NEXVPORT, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO JOSEPH M. HOYT, VILLIAM G. ITOY", AND CHARLES HEALEY, ALL OF LYNN, MASSACIIUSETTS.

BOTTLE-WASHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 399,57 6, dated March 12, 1889.

Application filed July 19, 1886. Serial No. 208,445. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: shaft has a longitudinal movement in a sleeve 50 Be it known that I, GEORGE S. SLQCUM, of that surrounds it, and is splined to it, so

Newport, county of Newport, State of Rhode that the rotary movement of the sleeve causes Island, have invented an Improvement in simultaneous rotary movement of the brush- Bottle-\Vashers, of which the following de carrying shaft and brush. The function of scriptimi, in connection with the accompanythis sleeve is to support and stiiien the brush- 55 ing drawings, is a specification, like letters on shaft,which is necessarily slender, as it has to the drawings representing like parts. enter the neck of the bottle. The actuating- This invention relates to a bottle-washing pulley, driven by a belt or otherwise, is loose machine of that class in which a brush'is inupon the sleeve that incloses the brush-shaft, trodnced into the bottle and rotated therein, and a clutch is provided by which the said so as to rub against and clean the inner suractuating-pulley can be connected with or dis face of the bottle, and when. withdrawn from engaged from the sleeve, so as to rotate the the bottle is held in abrush-receiver. In one said sleeve and the brush-shaft and brush or I 5 type of machines of this class now in use a permit their rotation to cease without stopping brush is secured to the end of a shaft that the rotation of the pulley itself. The longirotates while the brush is in the bottle, and tudinal movement of the brush-shaft in the the said shaft is in some cases tubular and sleeve carries the brush forward from the serves as a pipe to introduce the water into brush-receiver into the bottle or removes it the bottle while the brush is rotated therein. from the bottle into the brush-receiver, this Such machines are provided with a guide to movementbeingproducedbytheoperator;and hold the bottle in line with the rotating shaft, intermediate mechanism is provided between and the brush-receiver, into which the brush the brush-shaft and the clutch, before menis drawn when removed from the bottle, contioned, by which the clutch is engaged when tracts the brush so as to guide it into the neck the brush begins its forward movement into of the bottle next to be washed. In order to the bottle, and is disengaged at the end of the 75 prevent wear of the brush when removed from movement of the brush out from the bottle. the bottle, the brush -receiver has in some Means are also provided for permitting water cases been adapted to rotate with the brush, to flow through the brush-shaft into the bottle so that no friction or wear takes place bewhile the brush is acting and to stop the fiow tween the brush and the brush-receiver, the of water when the brush is removed from the 80 brush and shaft in such machines rotating bottle. continuously both when in and when out of Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a hot the bottle. tle-washing machine embodying this inven- 3 5 The present invention consists in the comtion, some of the parts being shown in elevabinat'ion of devices, hereinafter described and tion; Fig. 2, a plan View of the machine; Fig. 8 5

pointed outin the claims, for causingthe brush 3, an end elevation of the machine as seen to rotate while in the bottle and cease rotatlooking toward the bottle guide and brush; ing when out of the bottle. The starting and Fig. i, a transverse sectional detail on line 4 stopping of the rotation of the brush when at a", Fig. l, on a larger scale; Fig. 5, a sec introduced into and removed from the bottle tional detail on line y y, Fig. 2; and Fig. 6, a 0 are eifected automaticallywit-houtstopping or longitudinal section of the valve that conchanging the speed of the brush-actuatingdetrols the admission of water. vice or pulley, which runs continuously, and The brush-shaft a, made tubular to provide at once drives the brush at full speed when for the introduction of water to the bottle, has it has entered the bottle. connected with it the brush 1), which may be The invention is embodied in a machine in of any suitable construction, and which, when which the bottle-guide and brush-receiver are inside of a bottle, will expand, so as to reach stationary, and the tubular brush-carrying the inner surface of the bottle, and when r0- tated will rub against and clean the said surface in the well-known manner. The said brush-shaft passes through and is supported in a sleeve, 0, adapted to rotate in suitable 5 bearings, c, on the frame-work of the machine, the said sleeve being connected with the brush-shaft in such manner that both turn together, although the brush-shaft a is free to move endwise in the sleeve, this connection being effected by a spline or key, 0

fixed in the sleeve 0 and entering a longitudinal groove, a, in the brush-shaft a. lVhen the brush is not operating upon the bottle, it is contained within a brush-receiver, (Z, which I 5 is in this machine shown as fixed upon the fram e-work and stationary, and performs the usual function of holding the brush con tracted sufficiently to enter the neck of the bottle, which is held in line with the brush- 2o receiver by a flaring bottle-guide, d, at the end of the brushu'eceiver. The proper holding of the bottle is facilitated by a support, 6, that receives the body of the bottle, and is itself adjustably connected with the frame- 2 5 work by an arm, 0, in which the stem 6 of the bottle-support is vertically adjustable.

lVhen a bottle is to be washed, its mouth is pressed into the funnel-shaped guide (1, which centers it with its neck in line with 0 the brush-receiver d, after which the forward movement of the brush-shaft and brush with relation to the bottle will carry the brush through the neck of the bottle and down the entire length of the bottle, in which it ex- 3 5 pands, so as to reach the inner surface of the bottle. The rotation of the brush, by which it is caused to rub against the inner surface of the bottle to clean the same, is eifected by an actuating-pulley, f, shown as turning 40 loosely on the sleeve 0, and intended to be rotated continuously at the proper speed by a belt or other usual means. The said pulley is adapted to actuate the brush-shaft at the proper time by means of a clutch, one mem- 45, her, g, of which is splined to the sleeve 0, so as to rotate therewith and to be capable of moving lengthwise thereon, and the said clutch member 9 is normally pressed toward the other member of the clutch-namely, the pulley f-by a spring, g, said members engaging, when pressed together by a tapering friction-surface, in the well-known mannerv In. order to engage and disengage the clutch at the proper times, the movable clutch mem-, her g is acted upon by a clutch-shipper, (shown as an elbow-lever, h h,) pivoted on the framework of the machine and having its arm h forked to engageacollar in an annular groove, 9 in the clutch member g. The said clutch shipper is operated simultaneously with the entrance of the brush into the bottle and its removal therefrom by an actuating- -eam, z', connected with a slide-bar, 7c, movable in a guide, 70, and connected with an upright, m, that is connected with the brush-shaft a. The slide-bar 7c is provided with a handle, it, for the operator, who, by pulling forward the said handle toward the bottle, moves the brush-shaft forward, introducing the brush into the bottle, and at the beginning of this movement the cam 2' disengages the arm 12 of the shipper and permits the spring g to throw the clutch into engagement, so that the pulley f is at once connected with the brushshaft through the vsleeve c and rotates the said shaft at the desired speed, and the operator can then, by moving the handle it backward and forward, cause the brush to move up and down the inner surface of the bottle, it being intended to provide for sutficient lengthwise movement of the shaft 0; to cause the brush to reach and act on the bottom of the bottle. The forward movement of the brush is limited by a stop, k on the slide-bar 71 that is adjustable to give the proper movement for bottles of different lengths. The upright in is connected with a coupling, 19, that receives the end of the brush-shaft a, permitting the said shaft to rotate in it while maintaining a water-tight joint, and the said coupling is connected with a valve, 7', the inlet of which is connected by a flexible pipe, 25, with a suitable supply of water or other liquid that may be used for washing the bottles. The flow of liquid into the brush-shaft a and to the bottle is controlled by the said valve 7', which may be operated at the proper times by means of a rod, it, connected with the valve-stem and with an actuating-handle, u,

vadjacent to the handle it, so that it may be grasped and operated by the same hand that operates the handle a to introduce the brush and remove it from the bottle. The handle to is so arranged that the hand will naturally grasp it and the handle it together, and in drawing the handles forward for the insertion of the brush into the bottle will naturally operate the handle a, so as to admit water; but in pushing on the handle it to withdraw the brush from the bottle the handle u will naturally be released, and the said handle to is acted upon by a spring, 162, in a direction to close the valve 0" and cut off the flow of water.

Various devices have been used in bottlewashing machines of this class to brush or rub over the inner surface of the bottle, being constructed to contract sufficiently to pass through the neck of the bottle and then expand when in the bottle. Among those most commonly used are the ordinary bristle-brush and a spring-brush or rubber consisting of spring-arms carrying rubbing devices that may be made of india-rubber and work on the inner surface of the bottle.

The present invention is not limited to any particular device for scouring the inner surface of the bottle, and the term brush is intended to include any device that will pass through the neck of the bottle and then eX- pand to act on the interior of the bottle. It is obvious that the present invention is equally applicable to a machine in which the bottle moves onto the brush instead of having the brush move into the bottle, as shown for the purpose of illustration, the main feature of the invention consisting in the construction of the clutch and its actuating mechanism, as set forth, by means of which the rotation of the brush ceases when it leaves the bottle and begins when it enters the bottle by the movement of one with relation to the other.

I claim 1. The combination, with the brush-receiver and rotary brush-shaft, one movable with relation to the other, and driving mechanism for rotating said brush-shaft, of a springclosed clutch for transi'l'iitting motion from said driving mechanism to said brush-shaft, the members of which engage at the beginning of the movement by which the brush enters the bottle and disengage at the end of the movement by which the brush is with drawn from the bottle, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

The combination of the brush-shaftand brush-receiver, one movable with relation to the other, with a pulley free to rotate loosely with relation to the brush-shaft and provided with one member of a clutch, and a co-operating clutch member connected to rotate with the brush-shaft and longitudinallymovable with relation to the brush-shaft and to the said pulley, a ship1 )er-lever engaged with said longitudinally-movable clutch member, and an actuating projection that operates said shipper and is itself operated by the longitudinal movement of the brush-shaft or brush receiver, one relative to the other, substantially as described.

3. The combination of thebrush-shaft with asleeve inclosing the same and connected to rotate therewith and bearings for said sleeve, a pulley loose on said sleeve and provided with one member of a clutch and a co-operating clutch member keyed upon said sleeve and longitudinally movable thereon to en gage and disengage said pulley, as described, and a clutch-shipper engaged with said longitudinally-movable clutch member, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEO. S. SLOGUM.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK P. FISH, Gno. 1). NOYES. 

